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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27359161">Peonies and Pages</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/hrjpup/pseuds/hrjpup'>hrjpup</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>NCT (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Markhyuck Side Plot, Shy Huang Ren Jun, Writer Jeno</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 02:53:39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,001</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27359161</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/hrjpup/pseuds/hrjpup</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Renjun always hated reading. But, by chance, he becomes completely enthralled with a book he found at his favorite coffee shop, written by fellow college student Lee Jeno. </p>
<p>However, when Renjun finally meets his favorite author, it doesn't go exactly as he had imagined it would.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Huang Ren Jun/Lee Jeno, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>64</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Renjun always hated reading. He could never be bothered to more than skim the books he was assigned for class. He was the type to look up the book he had to read on SparkNotes a couple of days before his essay was due and would stay up for nights on end trying to figure out what the book was about instead of just sitting down and reading it. He most certainly never expected that a day would come where he would willingly pick up a book and read it, let alone all in one sitting, and then over and over again until he was familiar with every line. </p>
<p>One morning, Renjun was waiting for his usual iced coffee order at the coffee shop down the street from his apartment on a warm August morning, getting ready to start his walk to class. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, which was already slick from the summer heat and humidity, even if he had only taken a few steps outside so far. The glasses were fake, Renjun didn’t need them, but felt they suited his style. </p>
<p>As a kid, Renjun would always try and lie when he went to the doctors to try and get them to give him glasses, pretending he couldn’t read the characters on the chart across from him when he could see perfectly fine. He guessed the doctors must have seen right through his poor attempt to get glasses because no matter how hard he tried and how little Renjun pretended to be able to see, he never got a prescription for glasses like he was hoping. By the time he had gotten to college, glasses with no frames had become a nearly daily addition to Renjun’s outfits.</p>
<p>“Huang Lehnjun?” the barista called out, causing Renjun to grimace. He had been a regular at this coffee shop for three years now, since he first arrived at his college, SMU, but still hadn’t worked up the nerve to correct the baristas who pronounced his name wrong. </p>
<p>“Thank you,” Renjun said as he grabbed his regular order, an iced coffee with almond milk and vanilla, absentmindedly stirring the straw in his drink. He turned around quickly and began to head out of the shop, excited to get his Friday classes over with so he could get home and rest for the weekend...or rest and do the homework he had been procrastinating on. As he was just about to reach to open the door to leave, he spotted something he had missed on his way in: a pile of books sitting on one of the bay windows near the door. </p>
<p>He picked one up and eyed it over. The cover was light pink, with two boys drawn on it in a minimalistic style. Renjun thought that one of the boys, sillily enough, looked like him a little. Lighter brown hair that, while thin, looked a little overdue for a cut. The character had a smaller frame, especially in comparison to the other boy on the cover. Both characters donned glasses, and the smaller boy held a flower in his hand, down by his side. The same kind of flowers sat in a bundle in the basket of the bicycle, which the larger boy was sitting atop.</p>
<p><em> “A love story...” </em> Renjun thought to himself, holding himself back from audibly scoffing, <em> “...as if I would want to read something like that” </em>. But despite that, Renjun opened the cover to the first page, which had no text but had a handwritten note in black pen, with a flower drawn delicately underneath the author’s signature.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> hi there! </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> thanks for picking up my book, my name is lee jeno, i’m a 20 year old student at SMU. this book is pretty special to me, as i modeled one of the main characters off myself. feel free to keep a copy of this book, i left them here on purpose. or don’t. i guess i’m not the boss of you, am i? </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> lee jeno </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> “Well, he seems like a prick. I can’t believe someone this self-absorbed goes to my school,” </em> Renjun humphed to himself, completely ignoring the blush the note had brought to his cheeks and ears. He gently closed the book, looking over the cover once again. </p>
<p><em> “The art is so pretty..” </em> Renjun thought to himself, running his finger over each of the boys. <em> “Maybe I can just take it home to set it on my coffee table,” </em> he reasoned with himself as he slipped it into his bag.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>—</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Renjun drug his feet as he closed the door to his apartment behind him and let out a deep sigh. He didn’t like school much, so getting home to his apartment was one of his favorite parts of the day. </p>
<p>His apartment felt like a safe space for him, and he took a lot of pride in it. Every surface of the small studio was decorated delicately, creating a cozy feeling. He had lights strung around the apartment, a floor bed with soft pink covers, and pressed flowers and paintings of cats on his walls. Through the room, the common theme was pink, Renjun’s favorite color, giving the room a dreamy glow. </p>
<p>Renjun pulled the book he had picked up that morning at the coffee shop out of his bag and placed it atop the Vogue coffee table book he had on his coffee table, which had been a gift from his best friend Donghyuck for his last birthday. </p>
<p>“It looks even better there than I thought it would,” Renjun said to himself, smiling a little at how finding this book by chance helped him to all but complete his room decor, the pink cover of the book tying the theme of the rest of his apartment perfectly to the central coffee table. </p>
<p>Content with his decoration and exhausted from the day, Renjun grabbed the TV remote and started to flip through channels. As he did, he couldn’t help but have a hard time focusing, his eyes wandering down from the TV to the coffee table. </p>
<p>“There’s nothing good on TV anyways…” Renjun reasoned with himself as he picked the book off the table, opening to the author’s handwritten note once again.</p>
<p>He traced Lee Jeno’s signature with his finger. </p>
<p>He wasn’t sure why, but a strange feeling overtook him, and Renjun, without thinking, flipped to the next page in the book.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>
  <a href="https://twitter.com/hrjpup">twt</a>
</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Renjun rubbed his eyes as he sat deeply into his lecture chair, pulling the pink book out of his bag into his lap. He pulled his bookmark out and just as he was about to find his spot on the page, he felt someone climb into the seat right next to him. </p><p>Startled, Renjun quickly shut the book and tried to drop it in his bag before whoever just sat next to him could see it, his heart racing more than he would like to admit. </p><p>Renjun watched as a hand reached into his bag and he looked up at the boy sitting next to him, a blush rushing over his face. He was shocked that someone would do that, before realizing who it was. </p><p>“Hyuck, you scared me, oh my god…” Renjun sighed, grasping his chest, so glad it was his best friend and not some stranger reaching into the crossbody bag, getting way too close for comfort. But since it was Donghyuck? It was okay. </p><p>“What is this?” Donghyuck teased enthusiastically, a little too loud for Renjun’s liking.</p><p>“It’s nothing!” Renjun snapped, snatching the book back out of Donghyuck’s hands. </p><p>“A love story? Cuteeee, my little Renjunnie has gone soft,” Donghyuck cooed, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you read before, and how long have I known you? Three years now?”</p><p>“I’ve read plenty befo-”</p><p>“Look! It’s you!” A big smile grew across Donghyuck’s face as he pulled the book from Renjun’s grasp, holding the cover of the book up to point at the smaller boy on the cover.</p><p>The blush on Renjun’s ears grew a little brighter as Donghyuck opened the book to Lee Jeno’s note. </p><p>“It’s about time you got a boyfriend!” </p><p><em> “Maybe he’s the one that has never read before, that note clearly isn’t addressed to me,” </em> Renjun thought, a little defeated. </p><p>“His name is Jeno...Junnie is he cute?” </p><p>“He’s not my boyfriend,” Renjun replied quickly, taking the book back quickly and vowing to not let go of it again, “He’s the author of the book, I don’t even know him.”</p><p>“But it said he goes to our school! Don’t you at least want to find out who he is if you LOVE this book so much,” Donghyuck moved in closer to Renjun, getting excited by how shy he had made his best friend. He kept teasingly getting closer, as if he was about to leave kisses all over Renjuns cheeks. Renjun strained his neck away and pushed Donghyuck back, a soft smile creeping onto his face at the playful nature of Donghyuck’s antics. </p><p>Little did Donghyuck know, however, Renjun, at age 20, had never had a boyfriend before, and still didn’t now. He didn’t have the guts to tell Donghyuck that when they first met, so it was the only lie he had kept up to his best friend. </p><p>When Donghyuck and Renjun met at orientation for SMU, they instantly hit it off and decided they wanted to share a dorm together for the upcoming year. Even though Renjun had absolutely no interest in Donghyuck (who was just about the opposite of Renjun’s type), it was comforting to know that his new friend was also interested in boys and wouldn’t be weird about it. One thing that Renjun envied about Donghyuck though, was Donghyuck’s relationship.</p><p>The summer before college, between when Renjun and Donghyuck met and when they moved into their dorm together, Donghyuck took a summer music class at the university for his major, hoping to ease his way into school and make some friends before the craziness of his first official semester began. </p><p>One of the first days he was there, Donghyuck met a sweet sophomore music student named Mark, and the two of them hit it off right away. The way Donghyuck talked about Mark, it was like they were soulmates or something. Every time Donghyuck would talk about his boyfriend or tell stories from the summer that they met, Renjun could almost feel his teeth start to rot from the sweetness, it felt like almost everything was ripped right out of cliche Hollywood romance movies. Everything about it just seemed so dreamy to Renjun. </p><p>Renjun had never experienced anything like that, no matter how much he wanted to. He often laid on his bed and contemplated what he must have done wrong in a past life to be a junior in college and have never had a boyfriend. He had been out since the start of high school, and it’s not like there weren’t any other gay boys at his school, it was just that none of them were really interested. The whole thing made Renjun feel a little ashamed, so when Donghyuck started to pry a couple of nights after move-in, asking Renjun if he had a boyfriend and to tell him about all his exes, Renjun lied and said he had dated a few boys in high school but wasn’t looking for anyone right now. </p><p>And that last part wasn’t a TOTAL lie. Renjun wanted to be able to settle into school and stay on top of his work before trying to date. But now three years later, Renjun was starting to get desperate, wishing he could experience what Hyuck had...or even just be able to have a one-night-stand to feel “normal”.</p><p> </p><p>—</p><p> </p><p>Letting his head fall onto the pillow beneath it, Renjun closed the book in his hand, breathing out a deep sigh. He was so overwhelmed with emotion, wishing the story he had just read could just go on forever, even if it was his third time reading it now. </p><p>No matter how many times he read it, Renjun still couldn’t believe how much he related to the love interest in the story, and how much deeper he fell in love with the main character. It felt like somehow, Lee Jeno had interviewed Renjun on his ideal type and used that as the basis for the main character of the story.</p><p>He opened the soft pink cover to the author’s note, Lee Jeno’s note. Renjun softly traced his fingers over the flower that was drawn under Jeno’s signature, not being able to stop himself from smiling a little. </p><p>
  <em> i guess i’m not the boss of you, am i? </em>
</p><p>Renjun let his smile deepen, the teasing warm tone of the words handwritten on the page seeming to seep through the page and pulse through Renjun’s veins, right into his heart. Renjun shut the book again and held it close to his chest, oblivious to how many hours had flown past while he was sucked into the book, and unbothered by the soft glow of the alarm clock on his bedside table that read “4:23 AM”.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry for the slow start, I wanted to really establish Renjun's life before Jeno enters, I pinky promise he's in the next chapter! ;)</p><p>
  <a href="https://twitter.com/hrjpup">twt</a>
</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Renjun pulled at the hem of his button-down shirt, a nice indigo colored Ralph Lauren polo with a crest style logo on the pocket, as he rocked from the ball of his foot to his heel and back, waiting to the side of the counter for the barista to make his iced coffee. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Renjun used a hand to pull up his fake glasses, rubbing his eyes with a yawn. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As sleep deprived as he was, Renjun had half a mind to ask the barista if she knew Lee Jeno, the man who had kept Renjun awake for days now without even knowing much about him at all besides his book. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Donghyuck had tried to look Jeno up on social media (with much protest from Renjun), but Donghyuck assured him that he wouldn’t follow him, he just wanted to see what he looked like. Donghyuck assumed a university student like himself would have an Instagram, Weibo, Twitter... anything. But by the end, Donghyuck was completely defeated, his whole internet search mission came up empty. Donghyuck said that if Jeno didn’t have social media he must be crazy, but Renjun quickly replied that he thought it was endearing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Huang Lehnjun!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Renjun picked his drink up, ready to head out, messing with the lid of the cup trying to secure it all the way. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fuck-,” Renjun yelped as he quickly turned to head towards the door, lid of his iced coffee still undone, crashing into a boy who was right behind him. Renjun’s coffee spilled all over the boy’s (white, clean, very nice looking) sweatshirt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Renjun covered his mouth quickly, then looked down at the now half empty plastic cup in his hand. His eyes wandered back up to the pool of iced coffee soaking into the sweatshirt of the boy in front of him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Renjun felt a blush dance across his cheeks and ears, his whole face and body warm with embarrassment. He dropped his head down once again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I am so sorry sir, here, let me get you a napki-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The boy in front of him laughed a little, a soft and kind laugh. Renjun raised his head to meet the boy’s eye, shocked at the reaction.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t need to call me sir, Lehnjun, is it?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“N...no, it’s um…it’s Renjun,” Renjun murmured out, the blush spreading further across his face, “I’m so sorry, I’m not normally this clumsy, it’s just I didn’t sleep well last night and I’m on my way to cla-”.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lee Jeno! Your order is ready.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In that moment, Renjun would have sworn that time had come to a complete sit-still for everyone in that coffee shop besides himself. Renjun watched in what seemed like slow motion as the boy, the cute boy he had just dumped his morning coffee on, past him to grab the order off the counter. Renjun turned around to follow him with his eyes, his mouth parting slightly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Lee Jeno...like...THE Lee Jeno!?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Renjun thought to himself, his eyes going wide as he started to eye the boy up. Renjun’s mind started to race, wondering if it was just a coincidence that this boy had the same name as the author of this book he loves so much. But it couldn’t be just a coincidence, he had never heard that name before, and he found the book here. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“So it must be,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> he thought. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Much like the main character in the book he had been reading, this boy, Lee Jeno, had a large frame. He wore baggy clothes, and he had pitch black hair with a clean cut. Actually, everything about Jeno seemed clean...except for his sweatshirt which was now covered in Renjun’s coffee. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After grabbing his drink, Jeno walked back around to Renjun.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry about that, I’m Jeno!” the boy said with a soft eye smile, perhaps the prettiest smile Renjun had ever seen. Jeno looked young, like Renjun’s age, but when he smiled, his eyes would all but close, and the skin at the outer ends of his eyes creased into little wrinkles. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Renjun couldn’t help but notice how perfect Jeno’s teeth were, each and every tooth seemingly just the right size and a flawless tone of white, perfectly straight. Jeno’s bright smile, even at just being apologetic for having to step away to grab his drink, made Renjun feel like his stomach was participating in tryouts for the Olympic gymnastics team.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Jeno, that’s... no, I’m so sorry, your sweatshirt…” Renjun turned to the counter and grabbed more napkins, looking at Jeno’s eyes for permission to try and wipe his shirt down.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeno laughed at how flustered Renjun was for seemingly no reason. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m serious, it’s fine, better on me than on you! What are you so dressed up for anyways?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Once again, Renjun blushed a little harder and felt like he lost his ability to think. He looked down at his own polo shirt and the skinny jeans he had paired with it. They were perhaps a little too skinny for Renjun’s taste, but they were the only white pants he could find to match with his shirt in his rush out the door that morning. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s nothing, I dress like this everyday,” Renjun said, pulling the hem of his shirt down a little. “But your sweatshirt, I can wash it for you! I would offer you one of my shirts but,” Renjun paused, sizing up Jeno again, “I’m not sure I have anything that would fit”. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“God, what a dumb thing to say, why the hell am I so shy,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Renjun thought, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“I should ask him if he wrote the book, or on a date, or SOMETHING. Even if it’s not THE Lee Jeno that wrote the book, he seems like he’s giving me a lot more attention than I deserve given that I just spilled half a drink on his white shirt.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Renjun?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hm?” Renjun looked up from his feet to meet Jeno’s eye, making Jeno’s smile deepen, the taller boy laughing again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I said that I have to head to class, but I was wondering if you’d be here the same time tomorrow?” Jeno said, eyes softening a little as his smile went from a bright toothy grin to a much softer one. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Like a...yes! I’ll be here! I’m here everyday, any day is oka-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Cool, I’ll see you then!” Jeno chuckled as he walked out of the shop, his coffee in hand. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Renjun watched him push open the door and head to take the lock off his bike that he had tied to the bench in front of the coffee shop. Renjun knew it was a really nice bike just from looking at it, even if he knew nothing about bikes. The bike was jet black, the same color as the shirt Jeno revealed from under his sweatshirt as he pulled it off his head. The black shirt under was lifted just enough to show skin, making blood rush out of Renjun’s head. He watched Jeno take off on his bike and let out a sigh. His body and brain taken over by lust, Renjun tossed the mostly empty cup in his hands into the trash bin, pulled the strap of his crossbody bag so it hung in front of him instead of at his side, and he headed out the door. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Renjun’s mind started to race about the interaction he had just had as soon as his feet hit the concrete of the sidewalk outside the shop. If that really was the author of the book, Jeno did not look like how Renjun was expecting at all. He wasn’t exactly sure what an author was meant to look like, but whatever it was, it certainly wasn’t how Jeno looked. Even before Renjun got a glance at Jeno’s shape, it was clear that Jeno was fit. But once the soiled sweatshirt was off, it was even more obvious: the tight black shirt clinging to Jeno’s form, his exposed skin toned and sharp.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“How does he even get that fit,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Renjun wondered, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Maybe it’s that bike, I wonder how far he lives from campus.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Renjun’s mind leaped from thought to thought, wondering if Jeno bikes all the time, goes for miles to get out his stress from the day, comes home sweaty, hops in the shower and-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Renjun shook his head, he was getting too ahead of himself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Either way,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Renjun thought, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“he must live pretty far to take a bike instead of just walking.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Realizing his slow walking speed, Renjun began to pick up the pace of his steps a little... he would be late for class at this rate. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“I wonder if he was as nervous as I was...hm...probably not, he didn’t seem nervous,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Renjun paused waiting for the crosswalk light to turn so he could continue walking, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“and I wonder what he majors in! Probably creative writing or something.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Renjun all but swooned at the thought: Jeno sitting over a notebook, filling pages and pages with all the thoughts in his head, creating stories and worlds that Renjun would want to jump into like the book sitting in his bag. Jeno’s homework list filled with writing exercises and word limits instead of formulas and equations...it sounded so dreamy and romantic to Renjun, even if he hated writing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“So then, this meeting tomorrow, is it really a date?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Renjun thought. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Do I seriously have a chance to get my first boyfriend?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>
  <a href="https://twitter.com/hrjpup">twt</a>
</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Renjun pulled his phone out of his pocket, the buzzing feeling from a spam of text messages from Donghyuck irritating Renjun’s thigh.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>Donghyuck:</b>
  <span> renjunnieeee are you excited for your date</span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>Donghyuck:</b>
  <span> can you and jeno kiss already</span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>Donghyuck:</b>
  <span> junnie pick up your damn phone</span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>Donghyuck:</b>
  <span> HELLO???</span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>Renjun:</b>
  <span> i literally just got to the coffee shop, calm down</span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>Donghyuck:</b>
  <span> oooo you’re nervous~</span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>Renjun:</b>
  <span> what? when did i say i was nervous</span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>Donghyuck:</b>
  <span> i can tell you are~</span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>Renjun:</b>
  <span> shut up</span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>Donghyuck:</b>
  <span> …</span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>Renjun:</b>
  <span> okay fine i’m a little nervous</span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>Donghyuck:</b>
  <span> you have plenty of experience, you’ll do fineeee</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Renjun felt a twinge of guilt. He knew he shouldn’t have lied to his friend and told him he had been with guys before, but he felt so ashamed that at 20, he still had never experienced anything before.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Just then, Renjun looked up from his phone to see Jeno there, tying up his bike at the same bench as the morning before. Renjun looked back down to his phone quickly, not wanting Jeno to think he was creepy or desperate or something, sitting and staring. He didn’t want to mess this up before it had barely started. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeno pushed the door open softly, looking around the coffee shop tentatively. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“He almost looks nervous,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Renjun thought as he glanced up from his phone, before gluing his eyes back to it, writing random letters into his notes app to pretend he was busy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When Jeno’s eyes finally reached Renjun, the tall boy’s expression dropped any sliver of nervousness he may have been showing before, an expression of slight shock replacing it. Jeno looked Renjun up and down once, surprised at how pretty he looked. Renjun was wearing a form-fitted collared shirt that day, with fitted jeans as well. To top it off, he had a pretty silver pendant necklace that, while understated, attracted Jeno’s eyes right away. The outfit the day before has fit him well, and maybe the morning’s mood had something to do with it as well, just Jeno had a harder time pulling his focus away from Renjun’s body this morning.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeno’s confidence dropped for a second, feeling wildly underdressed in his white t-shirt and track pants. He tried to dress up a little more this time, opting for plain black pants and no sweatshirt today, as opposed to the basketball shorts he had on the day before. However, he failed to remember (or perhaps simply didn’t believe) Renjun mentioning that he dressed up the way he had the morning they met every day. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Looking up from his phone, seeing Jeno just a couple paces away, Renjun met Jeno’s eye, then mirrored his smile. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“He looks amazing,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Renjun sighed to himself. “I wish I could look that good dressed down. Man if I had a body like that...his body is perfect. I bet he could date anyone he wants...just like the boy in his book. His body is definitely my type…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Renjun noticed that the boy had glasses on today, with lenses in them. He noticed a lot less tension in Jeno’s expression from yesterday. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He looks so good in glasses, and I’m sure he actually needs them too, unlike me” Renjun laughed a little to himself.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wanna get drinks?” Jeno asked, with that big eye smile, making Renjun’s knees weak enough to make it hard for Renjun to get his legs underneath him enough to stand up with Jeno. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, of course!” Renjun said, trying to hide how nervous he was, tucking his shirt a little more as he stood, following right at Jeno’s side as Jeno made his way to the counter.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Luckily, there was no wait, and the boys were able to walk right up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What can I help you with today,” the barista asked with a smile. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Could I get a small black coffee and a medium iced coffee with almond milk and vanilla, please,” Jeno chirped, his eyes hardly visible from how big and bright his eye smile was. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Renjun’s whole head turned to look up at Jeno, Jeno just smiled down at him before pulling his card out to pay. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You remembered my order, how did you do that?” Renjun said, his shock evident in both his tone and body language, unable to keep his mouth from curling into a smile as they walked to the side to wait for their order. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How could I forget! The cute boy I was admiring dumped it all over my sweatshirt, and I had it sitting there all day as a reminder,” Jeno teased, lightly, Renjun knew, as Jeno’s smile didn’t waver in the slightest. Renjun thought it may have even gotten bigger. Even so, Renjun felt the need to apologize again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m so sorry, it really was an accide-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t worry, I’m just teasing,” Jeno said, bumping his shoulder against Renjun extremely gently, as an owner may lightly push at their dog while playing, “Besides, you’re really cute when you’re flustered.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lee Jeno,” the barista called, and Jeno took a little half-hop half-step to grab the drinks, handing Renjun’s to him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Make sure the lid is on tight this time Renjun,” Jeno laughed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Renjun felt his face get warm as he looked down at the drink, tracing Jeno’s name that had been written on the plastic cup by the barista. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Renjun followed Jeno back to the table he had been sitting at before, and Renjun’s mind starting to race again with every little question pondered asking Jeno since they had met.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, what’s your major? Lemme guess...creative writing or something?” Renjun asks inquisitively.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know, it’s funny, I do love to write, but I don’t feel like I give off that kind of vibe at all!” Jeno chuckled a little, “Why do you think that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Renjun glanced at his crossbody bag, thinking about the pink book inside, the book that Jeno may have written. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“I can’t talk about that,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Renjun thought, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Not yet, he’ll think I’m some crazy fanboy or something and that I’m only interested in his writing, and I can’t have that. I want him to know that I like him. And besides, how awkward would it be if I pulled out the book and asked if it was his book and it’s not, and then we just sit here in silence for a while, I couldn’t handle tha-”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Renjun?” Jeno asked, his face twisted with concern.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, yeah, sorry, um…” Renjun’s eyes darted to Jeno’s backpack that was dropped next to his chair, the zipper only half-closed, revealing that the backpack was filled with notebooks. “I just saw inside your bag while we were in line for coffee, it looks like you have a lot of notebooks and stuff, so I assumed you wouldn’t be a STEM major or something.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh!” Jeno’s expression was not unlike that of a puppy that was just presented with its favorite snack, “I am a STEM major! A chemistry major!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Renjun laughed to himself a little. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Maybe I DO have the wrong Jeno.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hm, let me guess your major then!” Jeno shifted to the edge of his seat, leaning across the table towards Renjun, eyes screwed shut and his fingers on his temples, pretending as if he was trying to read Renjun’s mind. “Are you…a fashion design major with a concentration in working with boyfriend material?’</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Renjun laughed at the joke, making Jeno sit up straight and smile again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, actually I’m an education major. Don’t laugh, but I don’t like school much,” Renjun admitted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, I get it,” Jeno leaned his head on his hand a little, “I’m not a big fan of school either. I always find myself daydreaming instead of focusing, which got me in a lot of trouble as a kid. But I bet if you were me teacher you wouldn’t mind.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“He doesn’t seem like the type to not like school,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Renjun thought, watching Jeno’s eyes dart from his lips back to his eyes, his expression softened, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“It’s really cute that he is though.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why do you have such a nice bike?” Renjun cringed a little, realizing how blunt that came out. “I don’t mean are you rich or something, I mean like, why would you invest in that, not like it’s a bad thing or anythi-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I do triathlons!” Jeno broke in, saving Renjun from his sentence that felt like it was in an irreversible downward spiral. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Just like the main character in the book,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Renjun thought to himself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How did you get into that?” he asked out loud. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s just a good form of exercise,” Jeno beamed, “I’m not very competitive so traditional sports aren’t really for me. Plus I live a few miles off-campus, so I get to train a little every morning by riding my bike here, whether I like it or not.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s really cool,” Renjun let his hands take the weight of his head, leaning into the table from his seat a little more, and thus leaning a little closer to Jeno. Renjun could almost feel an aura radiating from Jeno, an aura he couldn’t seem to get close enough to, at least not in this ever-more-crowded coffee shop. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A phone tone sounded, Renjun grabbing his back quickly thinking that was the source of the sound. Jeno pulled his phone out of his bag smoothly and answered the call that was evidently on his phone and not Renjun’s. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, Jaem, what’s up? … Oh shit, what time is it!? … I’m on a …  Uh, I mean I just lost track of time … Shut up, I’ll be there soon,” Jeno hung up his phone, rolling his eyes at the screen as he put it face down on the table. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m so sorry about that, but actually I need to head out soon, I didn’t realize but um… I kinda lost track of time and I’m afraid I may be late for my lab,” Jeno admitted, bringing his hand up to rub the back of his neck with a sheepish grin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Renjun looked down at his wrist and his eyes opened so wide you would have assumed he had just seen a ghost instead of just the hands on his little silver watch. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ve been here for an hour!? It felt like ten minutes!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeno giggled at Renjun’s shock, “I feel the same Jun, I had a really nice time today.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I feel like I still have so much more I want to talk about with you, so much more I want to learn about you, and I want to- I really haven’t done this before- I mean I have it’s just-” Renjun looked up at Jeno’s patient expression as he was blabbering on, pausing. He could have sworn he got lost in the flecks of amber tones that were emerging in Jeno’s eyes as the beams of light from the window hit them just right. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was wondering if you would want to go on a date with me again,” Renjun said completely impulsively, “Maybe we can go biking or something.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A date?” Jeno asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shit… did I… I thought this was…” Renjun scrunched his eyes, so embarrassed that he may have completely misread this whole situation, but even still he managed out, “Would that be okay?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Renjun could feel tears welling up already, he just wanted to pull his shirt up over his face to hide the blush he was certain was creeping up his cheeks and ears again, silently cursing himself for getting upset this easy when he should have known not to get his hopes up. Looking at Jeno, OF COURSE there had to be a catch. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I would love that,” Jeno said, kindly interrupting Renjun’s downward spiral of thoughts. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Woah, really?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can I have your phone?” Jeno said, politely trying to hold back his laugh at Renjun’s adorable surprised puppy eyes, “I’ll put my number in, and you can text me the details to this fun cycling date you mentioned! I’m pretty busy on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have a lot of classes then and my friend, the one who just called, and I normally train on those days too, but other than that I have a pretty flexible schedule! So just let me know, okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Renjun nodded quickly, pulling his phone out and shakingly finding his contacts app, opening and handing it to the boy across from him. Then watched Jeno’s fingers type, noticing how small his phone looked in Jeno’s grasp. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When Jeno placed the phone back in Renjun’s hand, Renjun felt their skin graze each other, and he would have sworn Jeno could probably hear how hard and fast his heart was beating from where he sat. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I had a lot of fun today Renjun.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Renjun swallowed hard, his lips breaking into a smile that he couldn’t hold back, “I did too, thank you for this”.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Renjun felt his heart go from racing to a soft ache as he watched Jeno stand up quickly and grab his bag. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Why couldn’t we just hold onto this moment a little longer?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll be looking forward to that text Renjun,” Jeno called back as he pulled open the door to the street, the bell on the door ringing lightly as the door closed behind him, and Renjun sat, head in his hands, watching this perfect boy, </span>
  <em>
    <span>his</span>
  </em>
  <span> perfect boy, untie his bike, mount it like a prince does his steed, and ride off into the bright morning sunlight. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>
  <a href="https://twitter.com/hrjpup">twt</a>
</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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